


Falling Is Just Like Flying

by insanevaleska



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Haly's Circus, soft jerome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 23:02:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15783912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insanevaleska/pseuds/insanevaleska
Summary: Y/N is an acrobat at Haly's Circus, but one day she loses her grip.





	Falling Is Just Like Flying

An angel. A beautiful, mystical creature. A phantom of the air. The Incredulous Acrobatic Y/N.

Every night, like clockwork, you soar through the air mesmerisingly, like a bird finally free from its cage. Freedom of the literal sense, and the best feeling of euphoria that one could ever experience. From the aerial hoop to aerial silk, you capture the attention of hundreds per night - all gawking in wonder as you twist, contort and amaze under the big tent.

It was where you felt complete, like you meant something to the world. If even one stranger went home thinking of your performance, you felt on top of the world.

Though, in the air wasn't the only place you felt happiest - you felt equally as free with your best friend, Jerome Valeska. Though his mother was a nagging whore, he turned out rather great. Every practice, every performance, every passing moment; Jerome was by your side.

"Break a leg," whispered Jerome as he engulfed you in his arms, planting a sweet kiss onto your forehead and flashing you his signature grin.

"Hopefully, I won't," You clapped back, smiling wide as you suddenly heard the crowd erupt from just beyond the material barricade.

"Welcome to the ring, Y/N L/N!" And - as they always say - the crowd went wild. Hollering, whistling, screaming. Adrenaline swam throughout your body, spreading like a drug through your veins as you felt your heartbeat quicken. Sending Jerome another wide grin, you backed out through the curtains, and into the spotlight.

Surrounding you, the crowd rung out to silence as they all anticipated your next move, edging you on with their prying eyes. Slowly, you looked upwards to see the loose red silk drop from the ceiling, hanging in front of you like open arms, ready to take you in. Gladly, you accepted, and with a swift run up, you grabbed the silk with both hands and begun the spectacle.

It took barely a second for every eye to become glued on your form, for every breath to be snatched from the audiences lungs, for everyone to watch you.

You really were a vision. A vision of pure elegance, beauty and grace. A vision of everything that made the perfect performer. To Jerome, you were a vision of everything he wasn't, and everything he craved. Together you were perfect, the best dynamic of your incomplete personalities. See, what he lacked in grace, he thrived in showmanship, and what he lacked in elegance, he made up for with incredible wit and extraordinary humour. You bounced off each other, and that's why you were friends.

However, like an itch just out of reach at the back of his mind, he could never scratch the thought of you and him together, as more than just friends. It started off like a single seed in his brain, a curious thought that any teenager gets, but soon it sprouted, and it's roots planted themselves deep in his mind - roots that dug deeper and deeper every time you were near.

Watching you every night, seeing you thrive under the spotlight and captivate the audience just like you captivated him, it made his heart burst with pride, with passion and with love. Knowing how happy it made you, made him smile.

Empty. Your mind was empty. No thoughts of nagging parents, no complaints about the world, no personal conflicts or self-hatred - just your mind focused on every move you made. You loved it, your only time to just rid yourself of everything that troubled you.

The feeling of the silk against your skin comforted you, like a mother's embrace, and that's all your mind focused on. It's all you could focus on, until the sudden lack of contact.

Wind lapped against your bare skin as you fell through the air, but not as freeing as it usually was. No, this time it terrified you. It terrified you because it wasn't planned. All it took was one accidental slip of your hand and it sent you tumbling towards the floor, moving in slow motion as the audience all gasped, the sound of your fellow circus members and, more importantly, your panicked best friend causing your heart to leap and spin in your chest.

Reaching out frantically, you tried to grab a hold of the scarlet silk that unravelled before you, missing it with every flail of your distraught limbs. Every time, you missed it by millimetres, causing the spark of panic in your gut to ignite, reacting with every fight or flight instinct you had. A blood-curdling scream left your lungs and your head spun, the dread and fear circling your mind like vultures around fresh meat.

Your safe place. One of the very few things that you trusted, that made you feel like something, had you falling to what could easily be your death. A heavy boulder of betrayal seemed to crash down on you at you thought of it, like a loyal friend had stabbed you in the back.

In your last second falling, you couldn't help but think of Jerome and just how ironic it was. You think of him as you fell, but could never tell him just how much you were used to falling, falling for him in ways a best friend never should. You had roots deep in your mind as well, roots that he had planted. Roots that grounded you to him, but couldn't ground you as you fell - both metaphorically and physically.

Preparing yourself for the explosive impact, you closed your teary eyes and held your shaking breath, only to await a fatal blow that never came. Instead of feeling the hard ground against your body, your fall was broken by something else. Or, somebody else.

Lying on the ground, inches from you, was Jerome, his clothes covered in dust and his face decorated the same way. Dread and panic revisited your body for a fleeting second as he didn't move a muscle, your mind jumping to the worst possible conclusion. However, as if on command, he dragged his arm up to his face and coughed into it, before pushing himself up into a sitting position. An indescribable feeling of pure happiness and relief filled you then and you did the only thing your mind could think of at the time.

Pulling yourself over to Jerome, ignoring the burning ache that plagued your body, you threw yourself onto him, your arms wrapped tightly around his neck as you embraced him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," You mumbled into his dusty shirt, repeating it over and over, unsure whether you would ever be able to say it enough.

"I would do anything for you, Y/N," Jerome mumbled back, gladly giving into the embrace as he held you tighter against him.

Pushing yourself up so that you faced him, you stared deep into his mesmerising green eyes and found yourself unable to do anything else. All these years, you'd looked into those eyes and thought you saw nothing but platonic admiration, a gaze that had crushed your heart so many times, but now all you saw was pure adoration. As you looked at Jerome now, with hundreds of eyes on you, you felt nothing but love for him.

"I love you," Jerome whispered, his voice lost to anybody but you in that moment.

No words could've described how you felt about this boy, so you assumed your actions responded for you. Leaning down, you pressed your lips against his desperately and cupped his cheeks with your sore, grazed hands. The way you kissed him then, in front of everybody you knew, and a hundred random strangers, told him exactly what he longed to hear - a silent 'I love you, too'.

Pulling away, Jerome chuckled softly and tilted his head to the side, "I love you, but please, please never fall like that again."


End file.
